DIY Business Card Design | How to Design Your Business Card? It’s Easier Than You Think!

DIY Business Card Design | Many people ignore the importance of having a well-designed business card that accurately conveys their brand image, yet this tiny piece of paper can be a vital item in your collateral package. It’s generally the very first thing potential clients get from you, so it’s your first chance to leave a strong, positive impression on them. If you don’t have a business card you can give out to potential clients or business partners, you’re missing out on a crucial marketing opportunity.

You give your business card to potential clients so they have your contact information. You include your business card inside of presentation folders, put it in envelopes, and use it in a myriad of other ways to let people know who you are and what you do. Savvy, well-connected business owners never leave office without a stack of well-designed business cards in their wallet or purse, but what exactly makes a business card design effective? These tips should give you some guidelines when looking to design your own business card.

The Issue Of Size | DIY Business Card Design

The typical business card size is 3.5” x 2” — which means wallets and business card holders are built to fit this size. If you business card doesn’t fit into these items, it may get tossed in the trash — making you lose out on potential business. A round card, for example, is really memorable, but it definitely won’t fit in standard business-card holder devices. You must be willing to trade convenience for memorability if you decide to use an unconventional shape or size.

Vital Information | DIY Business Card Design

Working within this tiny piece of paper, you can still get creative with the space: start by determining the key information you want to include, which will usually be a name, phone number and email address, then work your design around presenting this information in a fresh and innovative way. Think carefully about which contact information to include – you have to strike a balance between providing enough points of contact, without making your card look cluttered. From our experience, your website, email address and phone number are absolutely critical.

The Bleed Area | DIY Business Card Design

Unless your design background color is white, you have to prepare the bleed area for your card design. This is usually 3mm, but can be 5mm, so make sure you check with your printer! Just as vital is to avoid using a straightforward border around the entire card, as this will show up any misalignment in the trim if the card isn’t perfectly cut. All printers have a margin of error for cutting your cards, which can be as much as a few millimeters, so expect some deviation in the area where the blade falls.

Readability | DIY Business Card Design

This is a vital (and often overlooked) element in business card design. You wouldn’t want your clients to have to strain their eyes to read your website address or email. If you’ve got a lot of information to display, you may be tempted to shrink the size of your text. Be careful – small text can often look readable on a computer screen, but turn into an illegible smudge when actually printed. As a general rule of thumb, don’t go smaller than 8pt. Make sure the type color stands out against the background of the card as well. Light gray letters on a white card makes it hard to actually see letters and numbers.

Color Choice | DIY Business Card Design

It’s a good idea to keep your business cards in line with the rest of your branded materials. If you have company colors, use them. Of course, if you don’t have any particular color scheme to work with, you’ll have free reign on your cards. Bright colors – when used correctly – can help a business card stand out, and look unique. However, a plain black and white design can be as memorable and striking as a colorful card – and can often be seen as more ‘stylish’ too.

Paper Thickness | DIY Business Card Design

Consider the thickness of your business card. Thicker cards tend to feel more expensive – making your business appear more professional. A business cards printed on paper thinner than 300gsm look and feel rather thin, which can make them feel tacky and cheap. If the card feels flimsy or looks like you printed it yourself on a cheap printer, it will leave people with impression that they are dealing with a company that will disappear as soon as the owner finds a real job. Have your business card professionally printed on good heavyweight business card stock.

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MediaNovak is a creative design agency that specializes in web design, online marketing, graphic design and corporate identity solutions. We started our company with some basic ideals—offer our customers exceptional design, while delivering a positive customer experience.

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